How to Make Excel Add Months to Date
In ExcelExcel for BeginnersThis Excel for beginners guide teaches you everything you need to know about Excel spreadsheets and formulas to perform financial analysis. Watch the Video and learn everything a beginner needs to know from what is Excel, to why do we use, and what are the most important keyboard shortcuts, functions, and formulas, you can add a number of months to a date using the EDATE function. This can be very useful when performing financial modelingWhat is Financial ModelingFinancial modeling is performed in Excel to forecast a company's financial performance. Overview of what is financial modeling, how & why to build a model. and you are adjusting time periods. This is a step by step guide on how to have Excel Add Months to Date.
For example, if you want to have a monthly financial modelTypes of Financial ModelsThe most common types of financial models include: 3 statement model, DCF model, M&A model, LBO model, budget model. Discover the top 10 types, you can add one month to the start date. If you want a quarterly financial model, you can add 3 months to the start date.
Download the Free Excel Template – Add Months to Date
Formula: Excel Add Months to Date
=EDATE(start date, number of months)
(See screenshots and example below)
Example of Adding Months to Date
Follow the steps below to perform this procedure on your own:
Step 1: Ensure the starting date is properly formatted – go to Format Cells (press Ctrl + 1) and make sure the number is set to Date.
Step 2: Use the =EDATE(C3,C5) formula to add the number of specified months to the start date. Where cell C3 is equal to today’s date [the TODAY() function] and cell C5 is equal to the number 3.
Step 3: Make sure the output cell is formatted as a Date, and not as a general number (press Ctrl +1 and select Date)
Congratulations, you have now added months to a date in Excel!
Download the free template.
More Excel Training
Thank you for reading CFI’s step by step guide to learning how to add months in Excel. As mentioned above, this is a very common practice in financial modeling and a very useful formula for financial analysts. The best way to become a master at Excel is by practicing… a lot.
To get more practice, check out these additional CFI self-study guides which will show you how to perform advanced functions and formulas:
- Excel for DummiesExcel for BeginnersThis Excel for beginners guide teaches you everything you need to know about Excel spreadsheets and formulas to perform financial analysis. Watch the Video and learn everything a beginner needs to know from what is Excel, to why do we use, and what are the most important keyboard shortcuts, functions, and formulas
- Index and Match FunctionsIndex Match FormulaCombining INDEX and MATCH functions is a more powerful lookup formula than VLOOKUP. Learn how to use INDEX MATCH in this Excel tutorial.
- Excel Shortcuts ListExcel Shortcuts PC MacExcel Shortcuts - List of the most important & common MS Excel shortcuts for PC & Mac users, finance, accounting professions. Keyboard shortcuts speed up your modeling skills and save time. Learn editing, formatting, navigation, ribbon, paste special, data manipulation, formula and cell editing, and other shortucts
- Important Excel FormulasExcel Formulas Cheat SheetCFI's Excel formulas cheat sheet will give you all the most important formulas to perform financial analysis and modeling in Excel spreadsheets. If you want to become a master of Excel financial analysis and an expert on building financial models then you've come to the right place.
- Free Online Courses